High School Wrestling: Eagles open season with new cast

SPORTS

The Aberdeen Central wrestling program hopes to continue its conference and state success but with a new identity.

Eight senior wrestlers and two coaches are gone from last season but a total of four state tournament qualifiers and two coaches return.

We graduated eight kids so the whole identity of our wrestling room along with several coaches (is changed), said Shawn Lewis who begins his first season as the Golden Eagles head coach. Merle Aske and I return and we have two brand new coaches coming in (Sam Sand and Dustin Bonn). Our whole room has a brand new identity. The kids like it and a lot of them are excited all over again by having a change.

Last season Central finished seventh at the state meet with 12 qualifiers. The Golden Eagles won the Eastern South Dakota Conference dual title with a 6-1 record, the Region 3A championship and the ESD tournament title. Central posted an 11-1 regular season dual mark.

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Four place winners return from last season including eighth-grader John Frisco (fifth at 103 pounds), eighth-grader Grayson Neuharth (eighth at 119), senior Adam Scherr (seventh at 140) and senior Tanner Flack (fourth at 215).

Other senior returners are Austin Barvels, David Fettig, Grant Locken, Joey Solum and Zach Kolb. Much will be expected of Scherr and Flack.

Adam has made a commitment to cut weight. He didn't cut weight last year. Cutting weight will definitely put him in a weight class where he can be successful. After finishing fourth last year, Tanner is not satisfied and is looking to get back to state and get a higher placing, said Lewis, a Northern State graduate.

The number of wrestlers on the squad is similar to recent years. Competition at 145, 152 and 160 pounds will involve a number of athletes.

The schedule is much the same as last season with tournaments at Watertown, Rapid City, Bismarck and Fargo along with the big home meet, the Lee Wolf Invitational.

Lewis looks for Pierre, Watertown and Mitchell to field tough teams in the ESD. At the state level he points to Rapid City Stevens, the 2008 team champion, and Sturgis, which has won five of the last six State A titles.

For now, Central will work on developing its individual talent.

I'm looking for individual success, said Lewis. We'll try to get the kids as high a place finish as possible at state. If you can take care of the individual, the team will take care of itself. This year, with so much change, we have done nothing but look ahead and figure out who we are as a team.

The Golden Eagles begin the season tonight with a dual meet at Faulkton.